ATLANTA — The college football world reached its apex on Monday night when Alabama defeated Georgia in overtime, 26-23, in one of the few championship games that lived up to all the hype. If you watched it until the end, you saw each team making big plays in a game that ultimately provided one of the most unforgettable moments in college football history.
Trailing 23-20, Alabama won the game when backup quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, threw a 41-yard strike to seldom used Devonta Smith for a game-winning touchdown. Before we get to that moment, however, let's look at how we got there.
Alabama was going for its sixth national championship in nine years; Georgia, its first since 1980. Surprisingly to me, it was a de facto home game for Georgia with seemingly 80 percent of the 77,000-plus crowd Dawg fans. The Crimson Tide looked uninspired in the first half, especially their cool quarterback Jalen Hurts, who was just 3-for-8 for 21 yards. Meanwhile, Georgia played unconventionally by throwing the ball and softening the Tides' defense, leading 13-0 at the half.
Then one of the greatest gambles in sports history took place. Alabama coach Nick Saban benched Hurts for the second half, a guy who had started games 27 games in a row, and inserted Tagovailoa, a freshman from Hawaii who'd played just seven games and had 53 total passes under his belt.
What looked like a panic move at the time turned out to be brilliant!
The freshman immediately provided a spark, leading a third-quarter drive for a TD, pulling the Tide to 13-7. Georgia's quarterback Jake Fromm, who was 16-for-32 for 232 yards, answered with his own huge play, an 80-yard touchdown pass to Mecole Hardman, restoring the 13-point margin at 20-7.
Alabama responded with a fortuitous interception off the head of one of its lineman, which led to two field goals, closing to 20-13 in the fourth quarter. Later, the Tide drove to the Georgia 6-yard line where they faced a fourth-and-3 with just over three minutes left. Tagovailoa scrambled and hit Amari Cooper for the game-tying touchdown and the Tide had caught the Dawgs. Dawg Nation seemed resigned to its fate.
Three plays later, Alabama had the ball back and drove to the Georgia 19, setting up a 36-yard field-goal try. Chip shot. Except kicker Andy Pappanastos shanked it wide left. Suddenly, a revived Georgia had new life!
Then came four plays that will be forever remembered because they symbolize the roller-coaster ride of this epic matchup. In OT, Fromm took a 9-yard sack on third down and Georgia faced a long 51-yard field-goal attempt. It looked hopeless. But kicker Rodrigo Blankenship bailed out the Bulldogs and Fromm by making the kick. Georgia had a three-point lead.
On Alabama's OT possession, Tagovailoa made his own terrible mistake, taking a 16-yard sack for a loss on first down, moving Alabama out of field-goal range. Saban appeared to having a meltdown on the sideline, screaming and ranting after that play.
Alabama looked desperate. Georgia fans roared in anticipation. 'Bama faced a seemingly insurmountable second-and-26. Finally THE PLAY. Georgia committed the unpardonable sin of allowing Smith to get behind the defense for that epic moment. Tagovailoa had redeemed himself and 'Bama had won the championship. Just like that, all the air was let out of the balloon for Georgia. It was an unbelievable moment in sports as it looked like Saban and Alabama were on the brink of defeat!
Instead, Saban is a genius, the Crimson Tide are national champions and new "Hawaiian gunslinger" Tagovailoa (14-for-26 for 166 yards), becomes an instant legend. Unbelievable!
Speaking of unbelievable, it has been a privilege for me to write this column this season. Thanks to all those who played a role in getting this off the ground. I've been overwhelmed and appreciative of the response by the readers. We hope to return next year and will look for ways to allow greater participation from you, our readers. For me, writing the stories, the latest developments, and sharing my opinions and predictions hopefully provoked some debate and provided some informative and entertaining reading. College football is my passion. Bringing that passion to you was an absolute pleasure. Now, I'm just counting the 232 days until the 2018 season starts on Aug. 30.